William west



(No Model.)

W. WEST.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING SOAP. No. 268,443. I Patented Dec. 5, 1882.

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UNITED STATES PATENT WILLIAM WEST, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONEHALF TO HOMER PENNOOK, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING SOAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 268,443, dated December 5, 188?,

Application filed April 7, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Wnsr, of Denver, in the county of Arapahoe andState of Colorado, have invented a new and useful improvement in method of and apparatus for making soap, and also for separating the component'parts of fats and oils and obtainingfrom them glycerine, stearine, and oleine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification.

My invention relates to a new and improved apparatus for and method of making soap, so asto very much shorten the time ofthe opera .tion and produce a more perfect combination of the alkali and fatty bodies, and a perfectlyneutral soap, and at the same operation save the glyeerine usually wasted in making soap. It also relates to an improved method of decomposing fatty bodies into the components of glycerine, stearine, and oleine, as hereinafter described.

Figure l is a side elevation in section of the superheating-furnace, the condenser, the retort or still, and the pipe-connections and outlets. Fig. 2 is a view of the hollow inverted truncated cone in the retort or still. Fig. 3 is a viewof the double coneor circulator in the retort or still.

A, Fig. 1, is a superheating-furnace constructed ot' fire-brick or other suitable material. In the lower part of the furnace is afirebox, with grate-bars and ash-pit, and doors for supplying fuel and cleaning out the furnace, as shown at a b 0 d.

B is an arrangement of flasks and pipes for superheatin g the steam, preferably made of a series of wrought-iron flasks connected together 'oy wrought-iron pipes, as shown. The size of the flasks and pipes is varied accordin g to the capacity of the apparatus. One end of the pipe connected to the flasks passes up through the top of the furnace, as shown at The other end passes out at the side of the furnace and enters the top of the retort or still, as shown at B u 0 is a retort or still, made of any suitable metal or material capable of resisting a pressure of two hundred and fifty pounds to the inch. The body of the retort or still is made round or boiler-shaped, the height being greater than the diameter, as shown in the drawings.

Inside of the retort or still, is a hollow in verted truncated cone or funnel-shaped piece,

C. (Shown in Fig. 2.) This piece is made of copper or iron. The upper or large end is attached to the inside of the retort or still by strips of metal, as shown at G The lower endipasses down to or near the center of the retort or still, as shown.

Directly below the cone 0 is a double hollow cone or funnel-shaped piece, .(Shown in Fig. 3.) This piece is curved at the large ends and is joined together at the small part. as shown at O Icall this piece a circulator. It ismade of copper or iron. The upper part is attached to the retort or still by strips of metal in the same manner as O. The hollow inverted truncated cone or funnel-shaped piece G enters into the small part of the double cone as shown. The steam-pipe from the superheater (shown at B passes down into and D is a condenser, made ofany suitable water tight material and of any shape required. It is divided through the center by a partition, E. Near the top in the partition is an overflowopening, E. It is also provided with a coldwater pipe, I, near the bottom, and an overflow opening or pipe, J, near the top.

' F and F are two receivers in the condenser. They areymade of metal or any suitable material of any shape or size required. They have cocks or valves at the bottom for drawlog off the contents, as shown at h.

F is a safety-valve attached to the pipe Gr near the retort or still.

G is a pipe leading from the retort or still 0 I connected to the superheater-pipe B.

to the receiver F. This pipe passes down into the receiver nearly to the center, as shown.

G is a pipe connecting the two receivers. This pipe connects with the top of the receiver Fand passes through the partition E and down into the receiver F, as shown.

H is a pipe from the top of the receiver F, through which the uncondensed matter and steam are conveyed away.

I is a cold-water pipe for supplying the condenser D. VVater is allowed to flow through this pipe into the part of the condenser surrounding the receiver F. When the water rises up to the opening E it will overflow and fill the opposite side of the condenser. When both sides are full the water will overflow through the opening or pipe J at the top of the condenser. Bythisarrangementofcondenser and water-supply the receivers are maintained at diiferent degrees of temperature, so that a part of the products are condensed in each. The difference in temperature is secured by the water entering cold at I and passing into the second division through the opening E in the partition E. Thus the water in the second division can be maintained at l80allthe time.

K is a frame or platform on which the condenser rests.

The operation of my apparatus is as follows: The fuel in the superheating-furnace having been ignited, and the fatty matter and alkali or other substancesto be acted upon is placed or run into the retort or stilLO, the condensertank is filled with water,and asteam-pipefrom a steam-boiler or any source of live steam is Steam is allowed to flow into the superheater and is heated to 440 Fahrenheit. The steam thus heated enters the retort or still 0 through the pipe B which passes down to near the point or bottom of the cone 0 and strikes the fatty bodies with immense velocity and causes them to circulate in the direction of the arrows, and the action is continued until decomposition is complete and the materials are carried over into the receivers F and F through the pipes G and G.

The advantages of my invention are as follows First. A great saving in labor and expense. In the methods heretofore practiced in soapboiling the fats float on the top of the lye, requiring many hours to combine. By my method and apparatus the circulation brings both in violent contact at once and continuously, and a better soap is made in half an hour than can be made in twenty-four hours by the boiling process. 7

Second. Saving the glycerine contained in the fat and oil used in making soap, which by the old process is lost, amountingto millions of pounds a year. By my process the glycerine is distilled over and condensed in the receiver F, from which it can be drawn off and saved.

Third. My invention is equally applicable to the rapid decomposition of fats and oils into stearic and oleic acids and glyceriue.

Fourth. The construction and arrangement of the condenser D, whereby the different degrees of temperature can be maintained.

I am aware that superheated steam has been used in a plain retort or still for refining purposes and is not new but I am not aware that superheated steam has been applied to a retort or still constructed substantially the same as my invention and producing the effect claimed by me.

Having fully described my invention, what I desire to claim, and secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The retort or still 0, constructed of any suitable material, and with a hollow inverted truncated cone. 0, and a double hollow cone or circulator, inside the retort or still and attached to it, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a soap-making apparatus, the employment of ajet of superheated steam introduced into a hollow inverted truncated cone and circulator in the center of a retort or still, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The condenser D, constructed with the receivers F and F, inside the water-tank, and arranged to receive its supply of cold water near the bottom of the second or last tank, so as to condense the glycerine and other products of the retort or still at different degrees of temperature, substantially as described.

4. in a soap-making apparatus, the combinat:on of the following elements: the superheating-furnace A and superheater B, the retort or still 0, with its center cones, and the condenser D, substantially as shown and described.

WILLIAM WEST.

\Vitnesses:

GARDNER H. SMITH, CHARLES BENNETT.

ICO 

